DAVID HEALY says Sunderlands resolve to hang on to Kenwyne Jones could make all the difference in the Black Cats battle for Premier League survival.

Jones and Healy were both on the scoresheet at the weekend as Sunderland beat struggling Stoke 2-0 at the Stadium of Light a result which opens up a seven-point safety margin between the Wearsiders and the drop zone.

Sunderland rejected a bid worth almost s20m from Spurs for Jones last month, which would have seen Darren Bent join the Black Cats as part of the deal.

Healy believes that decision is a sign of the clubs growing ambitions.

He said: Both Kenwyne and Djibril Cisse are popping up with very important goals for us. The fact the club turned down a very big bid and the chance to bring a player of Darren Bents quality here shows just how highly everyone rates Kenwyne.

He did it again on Saturday and these are goals which should hopefully end up keeping this club in the Premier League.

You cannot put a value on that.

We are not a one-man team and the determination of Sunderland to keep hold of their best players shows how ambitious the club are to not just be survivors at this level but really make a mark.

Sunderlands win over Stoke was an important step towards retaining Premier Leaue status, but the Black Cats had to be patient to break down the Potters.

Stoke survived a cast-iron penalty claim when Danny Pugh handled Steed Malbranques header on the line just before half-time.

Stoke winger Matthew Etherington did see red in the second half for kicking out at Danny Collins after being fouled.

Sunderland breathed a sigh of relief when Henri Camara hit the bar from three yards out, but Jones broke the deadlock on 78 minutes.

Substitute Healy sealed victory four minutes into injury time with his first Premier League goal for the club.

Healy said: It was a blatant handball and should have been a red card and a penalty.

Stoke survived it and might think Etheringtons sending off was a bit harsh.

With the clock ticking down, I thought it was not going to happen for us. Thankfully we managed to get the goals we needed, because it was a huge win.

We were pleased to see the league table and that we are up to 11th but we are by no means safe.

We have to keep grinding out results and believe we can go away and take something from the top five or six clubs.